Author(s): Drew Magary

Fiction

"The Hike" is Cormac McCarthy s "Alice in Wonderland" gritty and terrifying but with deliriously surreal twists and turns. Jeffrey Cranor, "New York Times" bestselling cowriter of "Welcome to Night Vale" It s kind of a more cynical version of"The Phantom Tollbooth"mixed with a game of Dungeons Dragons. " Wired," chosen as one of This Summer s 14 Must-Read Books From the author of "The Postmortal," a fantasy saga unlike any you ve read before, weaving elements of folk tales and video games into a riveting, unforgettable adventure of what a man will endure to return to his family When Ben, a suburban family man, takes a business trip to rural Pennsylvania, he decides to spend the afternoon before his dinner meeting on a short hike. Once he sets out into the woods behind his hotel, he quickly comes to realize that the path he has chosen cannot be given up easily. With no choice but to move forward, Ben finds himself falling deeper and deeper into a world of man-eating giants, bizarre demons, and colossal insects. On a quest of epic, life-or-death proportions, Ben finds help comes in some of the most unexpected forms, including a profane crustacean and a variety of magical objects, tools, and potions. Desperate to return to his family, Ben is determined to track down the Producer, the creator of the world in which he is being held hostage and the only one who can free him from the path. At once bitingly funny and emotionally absorbing, Magary s novel is a remarkably unique addition to the contemporary fantasy genre, one that draws as easily from the world of classic folk tales as it does from video games. In "The Hike," Magary takes readers on a daring odyssey away from our day-to-day grind and transports them into an enthralling world propelled by heart, imagination, and survival."